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An asteroid will dramatically burn up in Earth's atmosphere today Tue, 03 Dec 2024 11:54:49 +0000 Astronomers have spotted a 70-centimetre asteroid that is set to hit the atmosphere above northern Siberia at 4.15 pm GMT, making a fireball in the sky

Why do Ozempic and Wegovy seem to treat everything? Tue, 03 Dec 2024 12:00:22 +0000 From Alzheimer's disease to depression to heart disease, Ozempic and other GLP-1 agonist drugs appear to offer a solution. Can one type of drug really tackle so many conditions, and if so, how does it actually work?

When, and where, did the covid-19 pandemic really begin? Mon, 02 Dec 2024 18:00:45 +0000 Covid-19 emerged in 2019, but some questions are still unanswered as to its origins

Chatbot gives medical advice to hundreds of users in largest trial yet Mon, 02 Dec 2024 17:29:15 +0000 Users of the healthcare app Alan whose queries were answered by a medical AI reported high satisfaction levels, but one exchange included "potentially dangerous inaccuracies"

Exoplanet plate tectonics: A new frontier in the hunt for alien life Mon, 02 Dec 2024 16:35:00 +0000 Plate tectonics seems to be crucial for life on Earth, but we’ve never confirmed that it happens on other worlds - that may be about to change

Temporary scalp tattoo can be used to record brain activity Mon, 02 Dec 2024 16:00:56 +0000 EEG recordings used in neurology could be made simpler by replacing the usual electrodes, wires and gels with a tattoo printed onto the scalp

Antarctica is in crisis and we are scrambling to understand its future Mon, 02 Dec 2024 15:00:09 +0000 The last two years have seen unprecedented falls in the levels of sea ice around Antarctica, which serves as a protective wall for the continent's huge ice sheets. Researchers are now racing to understand the global impact of what could happen next

Most comprehensive picture yet of how organs age at different rates Fri, 29 Nov 2024 17:00:08 +0000 Our organs don't seem to age at the same rate, which could mean healthy habits are particularly important at certain times of our lives

Why surrounding your plants with crushed eggshells won't deter slugs Wed, 27 Nov 2024 18:00:00 +0000 Want to protect your young plants from the ravages of slugs and snails? A classic gardening tip is to use crushed eggshells to discourage them. Shame it doesn't work, says James Wong

Heatwaves are surpassing the extremes predicted by climate models Fri, 29 Nov 2024 16:53:35 +0000 Comparing historical heat extremes with climate simulations has revealed that in parts of the world the models are underestimating how extreme heatwaves are getting

Swarms of cyborg cockroaches could be manufactured by robots Fri, 29 Nov 2024 15:04:52 +0000 Robotic equipment can implant electrodes into cockroaches and connect them to an electronic backpack, making it feasible to mass-produce biorobots for search missions

Ancient footprints show how early human species lived side by side Thu, 28 Nov 2024 19:00:53 +0000 Footprints preserved on the shore of Lake Turkana in Kenya seem to be from two ancient human species, showing they lived there at the same time about 1.5 million years ago

Life on Mars could be surviving in an area deep underground Fri, 29 Nov 2024 11:01:47 +0000 The Acidalia Planitia region of the Red Planet might have all the requirements for methane-burping bacteria to exist beneath the surface

Images reveal how climate change is upending life in Morocco's oases Wed, 27 Nov 2024 18:00:00 +0000 The climate crisis is shriveling lush oases in the desert, threatening precious ecosystems and ways of life

The best new science fiction books of 2024 Wed, 27 Nov 2024 18:00:00 +0000 Murder in space, a sexbot, a dystopian vision of the future: our science fiction columnist Emily H. Wilson picks her top five reads of 2024

The way Cheerios stick together has inspired a new kind of robot Thu, 28 Nov 2024 20:00:01 +0000 Tiny robots designed to carry out environmental or industrial tasks could be powered by tricks involving surface tension

Social media algorithms can change your views in just a single day Thu, 28 Nov 2024 18:00:11 +0000 The content you see on social media is often determined by an algorithm - and it turns out that these algorithms can rapidly change your views

AI can analyse a decomposing body to help pinpoint the time of death Thu, 28 Nov 2024 17:33:09 +0000 Determining when someone died based on their decomposing body is a subjective task, but artificial intelligence could bring some objectivity to the process

The forgotten civil engineer with a vision we could all learn from Wed, 27 Nov 2024 18:00:00 +0000 John "Bud" Benson Wilbur isn't often remembered today, but his ideas about what the distant-future world of 1977 would look like are inspirational, says Annalee Newitz

A little bit of fear can bring down levels of inflammation in the body Thu, 28 Nov 2024 13:00:43 +0000 Feeling scared seems to reduce elevated levels of inflammation, which may help explain why some people enjoy a haunted attraction

How to defeat wild emus - lessons from history Wed, 27 Nov 2024 18:00:00 +0000 As two "feral and not trained" emus go on the lam in South Carolina, Feedback suggests that authorities read up on the war fought against wild emus by the Australians in 1932. They lost – but there may be some tips

Don’t be fooled by Elon Musk’s chatty Optimus robots Wed, 27 Nov 2024 18:00:00 +0000 The long history of robotics should teach us to be more sceptical when it comes to autonomous humanoid robots, says Nicole Kobie

The best new popular science books of 2024 Wed, 27 Nov 2024 18:00:00 +0000 From a scientific take on screen time to nuclear war, a look at why we age to the future of our oceans, our writers pick their favourite popular science books of the year

Bird flu may be adapting to become more infectious to humans Wed, 27 Nov 2024 20:20:21 +0000 Three people in North America without known animal exposures have tested positive for the bird flu virus H5N1, and samples from two of them suggest the virus is adapting to humans

Ocean acidification is reaching deeper waters Wed, 27 Nov 2024 19:15:05 +0000 Rising carbon dioxide levels are driving an increase in the ocean’s acidity – and this change is sinking deeper as emissions increase, putting even more marine organisms at risk

Robot balloons are snapping centimetre-resolution photos of the US Wed, 27 Nov 2024 18:00:12 +0000 Near Space Labs’s autonomous balloon fleet is already taking high-resolution images of the ground, and its range will expand to the entire continental US early next year

Banning scary-sounding ideas can comfort but does more harm than good Wed, 27 Nov 2024 18:00:00 +0000 Recent developments in AI and neurological research may prompt concern. However, placing outright bans on such research is unlikely to be the best solution - and may hold us back

How could Ukraine stop Russia’s new Oreshnik missile? Wed, 27 Nov 2024 17:58:19 +0000 Russia’s new ballistic missile flies on a high arc out of Earth’s atmosphere and releases multiple high-speed projectiles, making it challenging but not impossible to intercept

Fossilised droppings tell the story of dinosaurs' rise to power Wed, 27 Nov 2024 16:00:40 +0000 An analysis of hundreds of bromalites – fossilised faeces and vomit – shows how changes in diet enabled dinosaurs to take over the world in the early Jurassic

We may be about to solve the greatest riddle of electromagnetism Wed, 27 Nov 2024 16:00:00 +0000 Physicists have long wondered why particles can only have an electric charge of +1, -2 or any whole number. Now we increasingly suspect that, actually, that's not true after all

Orcas have begun wearing salmon hats again – and we may soon know why Tue, 26 Nov 2024 17:00:34 +0000 About 40 years ago, researchers noticed a population of orcas had begun swimming around with dead fish on their heads, and now the craze is back

Record-breaking diamond storage can save data for millions of years Wed, 27 Nov 2024 10:00:06 +0000 Researchers have used lasers to encode information in diamonds, demonstrating record-breaking data density in an ultra-stable and long-lasting system

How safe is the US food supply? Tue, 26 Nov 2024 18:39:27 +0000 Food in the US has a bad rap thanks to outbreaks caused by bacteria, plus processing, additives and food dyes, but the food supply is actually much less risky than people think

Changing a single number among billions can destroy an AI model Tue, 26 Nov 2024 18:00:27 +0000 Today's huge AI models are composed of several billion numbers known as weights and changing just one of them can destroy their ability to function, leading to “gibberish” output

Forest schools don't actually boost most children's mental health Tue, 26 Nov 2024 16:00:04 +0000 Swapping classrooms for the woods doesn't appear to improve most children's mental health, but they may still enjoy it

The radical treatments bringing people back from the brink of death Tue, 26 Nov 2024 16:00:00 +0000 Reperfusion technologies that can reanimate human brains are raising the possibility that death could be a reversible condition, even hours after a cardiac arrest

Super-bright black holes could reveal if the universe is pixelated Tue, 26 Nov 2024 15:35:24 +0000 Space-time may not be continuous but instead made up of many discrete bits – and we may be able to see their effects near the edges of unusually bright black holes

Salt batteries are finally shaping up – that's good for the planet Tue, 26 Nov 2024 12:00:50 +0000 With lithium in short supply, sodium-ion batteries might offer cheap energy storage with less environmental impact

What will it take to solve our planet's plastic pollution crisis? Mon, 25 Nov 2024 21:20:20 +0000 Countries are meeting in South Korea this week to hash out the final details of a global treaty aimed at eliminating plastic pollution — here's what experts say it needs to include

Older people may have better immunity against bird flu virus Mon, 25 Nov 2024 18:00:42 +0000 Most people born before 1968 have antibodies against flu viruses similar to the H5N1 strain circulating today, which might lower their risk of severe illness

How a unique puppy kindergarten lab put the science into dog training Mon, 25 Nov 2024 16:01:00 +0000 Most dogs aren't bred to feel at ease in our homes, but scientists studying puppy cognition have found ways you can help yours adapt

This start-up is removing carbon from a polluted New York City river Mon, 25 Nov 2024 16:00:09 +0000 Projects to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by making the oceans less acidic are popping up all over the world – New Scientist visited one in New York City’s East river

Why gene editors want to treat fetuses when they are still in the womb Mon, 25 Nov 2024 12:00:03 +0000 Gene editing in the womb could be more effective than the same treatment after birth, as it is easier to deliver the necessary genetic machinery to fetal cells

Anger over COP29 finance deal threatens progress on carbon cuts Mon, 25 Nov 2024 08:34:29 +0000 A reluctant deal finalised at the COP29 climate summit isn't generous enough to encourage nations to submit more ambitious climate plans, delegates warn

Exploding interstellar space rocks could explain mystery radio flashes Mon, 25 Nov 2024 08:00:19 +0000 Enigmatic phenomena called fast radio bursts might be caused by interstellar objects colliding with highly magnetised neutron stars

Is this the pettiest it is possible to be in an academic article? Wed, 20 Nov 2024 18:00:00 +0000 Feedback is in awe of the authors of a new study in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, and how they handled requests from peer reviewers

IBM entangled two quantum chips to work together for the first time Wed, 20 Nov 2024 16:00:39 +0000 IBM has bet big on a modular approach to building quantum computers, and now it has successfully linked two quantum chips together to operate as a single device, a key step towards that goal

AI simulations of 1000 people accurately replicate their behaviour Wed, 20 Nov 2024 16:55:25 +0000 Using GPT-4o, the model behind ChatGPT, researchers have replicated the personality and behaviour of more than 1000 people, in an effort to create an alternative to focus groups and polling

Our trust in society is eroding. We need to fight back Wed, 20 Nov 2024 18:00:00 +0000 A recent scandal over food hygiene ratings shows how deception destroys trust within society. We need to fight back, says Jonathan R. Goodman

Extreme heat is now making cities unlivable. How can we survive it? Wed, 20 Nov 2024 16:00:00 +0000 Unbearable heat in China’s megacities reveals the future many of us face, but also suggests ways we can adapt

Hunter-gatherers built a massive fish trap in Belize 4000 years ago Fri, 22 Nov 2024 19:00:15 +0000 Earthen channels that span more than 640 kilometres show that pre-Mayan Mesoamericans built large-scale fish-trapping facilities earlier than previously thought

Meteorite crystals show evidence of hot water on ancient Mars Fri, 22 Nov 2024 19:00:14 +0000 A rock that formed around 4.5 billion years ago on Mars before being blasted into space by a meteor strike and making its way to Earth contains telltale evidence that it was formed in the presence of hot water

Risk algorithm used widely in US courts is harsher than human judges Fri, 22 Nov 2024 16:00:34 +0000 When deciding whether to let people await trial at home or in jail, US judges can use a risk score algorithm. But it often makes harsher recommendations than humans do

Bacteria found in asteroid sample – but they're not from space Fri, 22 Nov 2024 14:42:05 +0000 The unexpected discovery of microbial life in a piece of rock from an asteroid shows how hard it is to avoid contaminating samples brought back to Earth

The surprising science of coffee and its effect on both body and mind Tue, 20 Aug 2024 17:00:00 +0100 The latest research on caffeine reveals why coffee and decaf can be so good for your health, but energy drinks can be lethal

Crushed rocks outpace giant fans in race to remove CO2 from air Fri, 22 Nov 2024 11:00:26 +0000 New technologies to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere are growing in scale –though their effect on the climate remains negligible

Stunning Never Let Me Go stage version asks the big questions Fri, 22 Nov 2024 10:50:40 +0000 Kazuo Ishiguro’s heartbreaking dystopian novel of young love and organ donation has been superbly adapted for the stage

Having a baby on Mars? You may be in for a difficult time Fri, 22 Nov 2024 09:30:03 +0000 Kelly Weinersmith, co-author of A City on Mars, the latest pick for our New Scientist Book Club, and Cat Bohannon lay out the reasons why it might not be such a great idea to be pregnant on another planet

Majority of people believe their devices spy on them to serve up ads Fri, 22 Nov 2024 09:00:51 +0000 There is no evidence that advertisers use covert recordings of conversations to target people with adverts, an accusation widely denied by the industry, and yet this belief persists

Striking photos highlight the stark reality of Arctic glacier melt Wed, 20 Nov 2024 18:00:00 +0000 A pair of photos, taken nearly six decades apart, reveals dramatic ice loss in the Arctic linked to climate change

What to know about creatine, the gym supplement with wide benefits Fri, 22 Nov 2024 07:00:31 +0000 Creatine is commonly associated with athletes and bodybuilders, but the popular supplement seems to have broad benefits on everything from ageing to brain function

Could brain freezing cure all disease – indirectly? Wed, 20 Nov 2024 18:00:00 +0000 Neuroscientist Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston's book The Future Loves You presents a bold new take on dying

Chimpanzees seem to get more technologically advanced through culture Thu, 21 Nov 2024 19:00:26 +0000 Groups of wild chimpanzees with more complex tool-using behaviours tend to be genetically linked, providing evidence for cumulative culture in other apes

Brainwave experiment shows minke whales have ultrasonic hearing Thu, 21 Nov 2024 19:00:25 +0000 In the first hearing test of live baleen whales, the animals detected much higher frequency sounds than expected, forcing researchers to reconsider how these mammals respond to predators – and humans

World's thinnest spaghetti won't please gourmands but may heal wounds Thu, 21 Nov 2024 17:30:04 +0000 Spaghetti strands that are 200 times thinner than a human hair could be woven into bandages to help prevent infections

Our writers pick their favourite science fiction books of all time Thu, 30 May 2024 16:00:33 +0100 We asked New Scientist staff to pick their favourite science fiction books. Here are the results, ranging from 19th-century classics to modern day offerings, and from Octavia E. Butler to Iain M. Banks

Common chemical in drinking water hasn't been tested for safety Thu, 21 Nov 2024 21:47:30 +0000 Chloramine is used as a disinfectant in drinking water systems from the US to Australia. Research now shows it breaks down into a compound that may have negative health impacts

The universe could vanish at any moment – why hasn’t it? Tue, 19 Nov 2024 16:00:00 +0000 A cataclysmic quantum fluctuation could wipe out everything at any moment. The fact that we’re still here is revealing hidden cosmic realities

A sliver of lab-grown wood has been made from stem cells Thu, 21 Nov 2024 15:30:14 +0000 Growing wood directly from stem cells could offer an alternative to cutting threatened hardwood trees, but it isn't clear if it has same properties as actual wood

Worm-like fossil is the oldest ancestor of spiders and crustaceans Thu, 21 Nov 2024 19:41:50 +0000 Arthropods belong to an evolutionary branch – the ecdysozoa – that contains about half of all animal species, and the earliest fossil evidence of the group now dates back 550 million years

Putting food waste in the bin felt wrong until I learned where it went Wed, 20 Nov 2024 18:00:00 +0000 When I moved back to York, UK, I was shocked by its garbage system, with limited recycling and no composting. But a bit of digging showed its brilliance, says Graham Lawton

We've taken a photo of a star in another galaxy for the first time Thu, 21 Nov 2024 13:00:12 +0000 Using four telescopes linked together, astronomers have captured an astonishing image of a huge star more than 160,000 light years away

Nectar-loving Ethiopian wolves may be the first carnivore pollinators Thu, 21 Nov 2024 10:17:58 +0000 Endangered Ethiopian wolves feed on the nectar of red hot poker plants, and may transport pollen from flower to flower as they do so

This bold, experimental slice of deep-space sci-fi is just brilliant Wed, 20 Nov 2024 18:00:00 +0000 In Adam Roberts's Lake of Darkness, two spaceships meet to study a black hole. Their research comes to an abrupt halt, however, when crew members start dying horribly, says Emily H. Wilson

Vaclav Smil's take on how to feed future populations has one big flaw Wed, 20 Nov 2024 18:00:00 +0000 How to Feed the World, Vaclav Smil's "big numbers" book about future food supply, fails to address the impact of climate change

Robotic pigeon reveals how birds fly without a vertical tail fin Wed, 20 Nov 2024 19:00:43 +0000 A flying robot uses its bird-like tail to maintain stability in flight – a technique that could enable more aerodynamic aircraft designs that use less fuel

Mayors are the leaders we need to help fight climate change Wed, 20 Nov 2024 18:00:00 +0000 By 2050, 70 per cent of the world's population will live in urban centres - that's just one reason why mayors will be essential to addressing the climate crisis, making vital adaptations to cities to make them more bearable in a warming world

Bluesky is ushering in a pick-your-own algorithm era of social media Tue, 19 Nov 2024 12:10:52 +0000 More than 20 million people have joined Bluesky, a social network that gives you fine-grained control over what you see and who you interact with. I think it is the future of social media, says Chris Stokel-Walker

Planet 10 times the size of Earth is one of the youngest ever found Wed, 20 Nov 2024 16:00:52 +0000 A large planet has been spotted orbiting a dwarf star that is just 3 million years old, offering possible clues to how the worlds in our solar system came into being

Google DeepMind AI can expertly fix errors in quantum computers Wed, 20 Nov 2024 16:00:23 +0000 Quantum computers could get a boost from artificial intelligence, thanks to a model created by Google DeepMind that cleans up quantum errors

Quantum computers hit a crucial milestone for error-free calculation Tue, 19 Nov 2024 13:30:59 +0000 The largest number of logical qubits has been linked through quantum entanglement, which is a key step towards quantum computers that can detect and correct errors

Are calories on menus doing more harm than good? Wed, 20 Nov 2024 11:12:40 +0000 Many restaurants in countries such as England and the US now print calories on their menus, but some researchers question whether this is really tackling their obesity problem

See the sun revealed in stunning glory by Solar Orbiter pictures Wed, 20 Nov 2024 10:00:24 +0000 The best pictures we have of the sun yet have been delivered thanks to the Solar Orbiter spacecraft

Being in space makes it harder for astronauts to think quickly Wed, 20 Nov 2024 05:00:24 +0000 The effects of being in space can worsen an astronaut's working memory, processing speed and attention - which could be a problem for future missions

Einstein’s theories tested on the largest scale ever – he was right Wed, 20 Nov 2024 01:00:36 +0000 Analysis of millions of galaxies upholds Albert Einstein’s ideas about gravity and also offers tantalising new hints of how dark energy may have evolved

World's new fastest supercomputer is built to simulate nuclear bombs Tue, 19 Nov 2024 17:02:17 +0000 The vast computational power of the El Capitan supercomputer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California will be used to support the US nuclear deterrent

Heart-shaped mollusc has windows that work like fibre optics Tue, 19 Nov 2024 16:00:33 +0000 Tiny, solid windows in the shells of heart cockles let in light for the photosynthetic algae inside them – and they could show us how to make better fibre-optic cables

A giant hornet from Asia has appeared in Europe for the first time Tue, 19 Nov 2024 10:58:57 +0000 Four southern giant hornets have been identified in northern Spain, leading to concerns that the species could harm native insects if it becomes widespread

Wild cavefish can somehow survive with almost no sleep at all Tue, 19 Nov 2024 10:00:02 +0000 Several populations of Mexican tetra fish that live in darkness have independently evolved to need hardly any sleep, but the reason why is a mystery

We're starting to understand why some people regain weight they lost Mon, 18 Nov 2024 18:36:16 +0000 Changes to the structure of DNA within fat cells may be why it is often so hard to keep weight off after you have lost it

AI maths assistant could help solve problems that humans are stuck on Tue, 19 Nov 2024 08:00:18 +0000 Most mathematicians have been reluctant to start working with artificial intelligence, but a new tool developed by researchers at Meta may change that

Starship live: Watch Musk launch sixth Starship test as Trump attends Tue, 19 Nov 2024 21:32:27 +0000 Elon Musk’s SpaceX is preparing for the sixth test flight of Starship, the world's most powerful rocket. It aims to conduct the launch at 4pm Central Time (10pm UK). Here’s everything we know so far

We may have solved the mystery of what froze Earth's inner core Mon, 18 Nov 2024 20:00:05 +0000 A supercomputer simulation of iron and carbon atoms in Earth’s inner core may explain how a molten ball at the centre of our planet froze solid

Quantum time crystals could be used to store energy Mon, 18 Nov 2024 19:59:47 +0000 The weird thermodynamics found in time crystals could be harnessed to store energy in a quantum battery-like device

Countries are cheating their way to net zero by overrelying on forests Mon, 18 Nov 2024 16:00:25 +0000 Leading researchers warn that relying on "passive" carbon sinks such as forests to absorb ongoing carbon emissions will doom the world to continued warming

Vital Atlantic Ocean current is already weakening due to melting ice Mon, 18 Nov 2024 10:28:51 +0000 A study modelling the impact of melting ice suggests scientists have underestimated the risk that an important ocean current will shut down and cause climate chaos

Evidence is growing that microbes in your mouth contribute to cancer Mon, 18 Nov 2024 08:00:21 +0000 The oral microbiome is increasingly being linked to head and neck cancer, but we don't yet understand its exact role

Exquisite bird fossil provides clues to the evolution of avian brains Wed, 13 Nov 2024 16:00:11 +0000 Palaeontologists have pieced together the brain structure of a bird that lived 80 million years ago named Navaornis hestiae, thanks to a remarkably well-preserved fossil

How I learned to love looking at the moon – and you can too Wed, 13 Nov 2024 18:00:00 +0000 The moon's glare can frustrate astronomers, but Leah Crane is a big fan of the jagged, cratered details of the lunar surface these days

Why we now think the myopia epidemic can be slowed – or even reversed Wed, 13 Nov 2024 16:05:00 +0000 Rates of near-sightedness are rising all over the world. But solutions to the epidemic are coming into focus and could be simpler than you think